Help me Choose my First System!

[ravicus 10+ year member]

What if I bought a new HU and speakers now, could I add an amp and a sub later?

 

[OmegaBunny 10+ year member]

Yeah you can always add a sub and amp later

 

[OmegaBunny 10+ year member]

What about bluetooth for making phone calls?

 

[skogie1 10+ year member]

This probably won't matter on your budget, but for what it's worth, consider your electrical demands BEFORE purchasing components. If you're vehicle isn't going to be able to supply enough power then you're going to need to upgrade your car's power supply system (big 3 and possibly an HO alternator and/or second battery). This will add a lot of money and time to your project, as I have recently found out myself.

I've used both crutchfield and sonixelectronics. Both are good. Crutchfield has absolutely stellar support.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

This probably won't matter on your budget, but for what it's worth, consider your electrical demands BEFORE purchasing components. If you're vehicle isn't going to be able to supply enough power then you're going to need to upgrade your car's power supply system (big 3 and possibly an HO alternator and/or second battery). This will add a lot of money and time to your project, as I have recently found out myself.
I've used both crutchfield and sonixelectronics. Both are good. Crutchfield has absolutely stellar support.

Don't worry about this stuff with just a headunit powering your speakers ur vehicles power will be just fine. That is a good option, if you go the HU and components route, choose very good front components and a very good head unit. It will make a big difference. Try to find a head unit that has a built in Crossover so you don't send the speakers the really low frequencies that will protect them from damage and clipping.

 

[ravicus 10+ year member]

Could someone send me a link to a head unit that has a crossover in it? I don't see that marked on any that I'm looking at.

Edit: Does this have one?

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDC348U/Kenwood-KDC-348U.html?tp=5684&nvpair=AG_Size|FFSingle-DIN

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

I'll bump this up for you I'm not good at suggesting merchandise just features lol. No as far as I can tell that one doesn't I wouldn't buy it either doesn't look to be a very quality HU to me.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

Reasons you do/do not need a HU with a crossover.

You need one: You will be listening to your music loudly, and your speakers cannot handle very low frequencies, when you turn it to the volume you want the speakers experience clipping/distortion.

You don't need one: Your speakers are 6.5 or larger, preferably quality component sets and can handle low bass frequencies even at higher volumes without clipping/distortion.

If you plan on buying some really nice components or don't really plan on turning the volume up high you can get by just fine without having a crossover or at least a HPF High Pass Filter. The thing you want is for the speakers to be at the volume you enjoy without clipping. This will ensure their long life.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

Another option is to buy an amp. Amps generally have both a LPF (Low Pass Filter) and a HPF (High Pass Filter). You can use the amplifier's high pass filter too instead of the head unit's. Some people prefer to use their amp's filter, and some people prefer to use their head unit's, some people even prefer to be using a mixture of both.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

A head unit that has a crossover will either say it has a crossover built in, or it will say it has low/highpass filters. Be wary some head units only have a low pass filter, this is for your subs not your speakers, the high pass is for your speakers.